Bangor

Five miles north of Newtownards, a pretty bathing place, in the mouth of Lough Belfast, is the castle of Lord Bangor. The name is derived from the Bean choir or white (i.e. stone) church, built here in the 12th century, when stone churches were more uncommon, instead of the wooden buildings attached to an ancient monastery here. Ballyleidy belongs to the Lord Dufferin; the Dowager Lady Dufferin is a grand-daughter of Sheridan, and the author of a beautiful poem. Crawfordsburn, seat of the late Sharman Crawford, Esq., the great advocate of tenant-right; here there is a customary charge of £5 to £20 an acre, paid by the incoming tenant to his predecessor, for the good will as it were, on the ground of improvements. Most of the people in the lowlands of this county are of Scottish descent.

Places nearby

Beaumaris, the capital of Anglesea, is beautifully situated at the entrance to the Menai Straits, about 4 miles from Bangor. It has remains of a castle, built in the thirteenth century by Edward I. The chapel and the great …

Holyhead, so called from a monastery founded by St. Gybi in the sixth century, is the chief packet station for Ireland, and stands on Holy Island, on a bay between it and the west side of Anglesea, 64 miles from Dublin.

It occupies the site of a Roman town called Segontium, of which there are various relics in the museum. The well-preserved castle, built between 1284 and 1320, is the most interesting object; it covers 2½ acres. There are remains of the gateway, t…